The Portland daily press., 1887-07-29
INTERNAL REVENUE RECORDS.
The Curious. and Arbitrary Perform
~apces of Collector Page.

Mr.. Calvin Page, the newly appointed Col
lector of Internal Revenue, at Portsmouth,
N. H., whose territory embraces the State
of Maine, has written the following letter Il
response to an inquiry as to his regulations
regard ing the examination of the records Of
his Office touching the payment Of a special
tax by retail liquor dealers. The letter is as
follows:
Slr-I would say that my duty requires me to
collect the internal revenue, and to do so with as
little annoyance and trouble to the taxpayer as Is
possible do not intend that the payment of a
tax by any person promptly and honestly to me,
shall cause such person any injury, persecution
or prosecution II can prevent 1t; nor do intend
to allow any person to hinder and retard me in
collecting the taxes and doing my sworn duty.
All persons desiring to cooperate with and aid
me in collecting the taxes can have free access 10
such records in my Office as are not required 10 be
kept private. but all persons whose object Is to
hinder or prevent the payment and collection Of
taxes viii be denied such access.
My records are kent TO aid me In the Perform
ance Of my dnties ano to secure the United States
from loss, either through my default or from the
nOn-collection taxes; and am not able to see
how any parties not acting for me or the United
states, can have any pretence OF right to examine
them.
Concerning the same subject, the Belfast
Journal has this account Of the visit of
Belfast Constable to Portsmouth, and his
meeting with the doughty and absolute Col
lector Page.
The revised statutes Of the United States
read as follows:
"See. 3240. Each collector Of internal revenue
SHALL under regulations Of the Commissioner Of
Internal Revenue place and keep conspicuously
In his oice for public inspection, an alphabetical
list OF the names OF all persons who shall have
paid special taxes within his district, and shall
state thereon the time, place and business for
which such special taxes have been paid"
Friday, July 10Th. j. w. Mitchell, State
Constable, went to Portsmouth for the pur-
pose Of seeing this list and using it in evil
dence. Mr.. Page, collector, upon learning
his errand utterly refused to exhibit such a
list. He sdeclared that he should "protect
his customers" that no one had seen or
should see it; that the records were out of
the jurisdiction Of this State and 1t would
that 1t were better that he should go to Jail
than they If he exhibited the list, as it was
- mean business to collect text from a
man one day and the next give it in evidence
against him. When his attention was called
to the statute quoted above, he refused to
allow Mr.. Mitchell to see a copy of the Re-
yised Statutes OF the United States declaring
that Flaw or no law" he would never show
those records until he was compelled to, and
that he would be backed up IN his position
and would fight before he would exhibit the
records. Mr.. Frink, u. S. District Attorney,
cr.sply declared that Mr.. Page must be a
fool If he did show the list and would give
no further attention to the case. This in
view of the law is rather cool. Although
the list was procured in spite Of him, and it
shows that two of our druggists and several
others have paid the tax and are liable to
prosecution.